2017 World Car Of The Year Finalists Announced — An Indian Car Makes It To The List

The award is for car manufacturers with products that are on sale on at least in two continents and launched within a given year. In total, 73 international automotive journalistforms thejury, six are from India. The awards jury have finished their first round of voting in January and the finalists have been announced.

There are a total of six categories apart from the 2017 World Car of the Year -- World Luxury Car, World Performance Car, World Green Car, World Car Design of the Year, and a new category that has been added to this year - World Urban Car, for which, the Maruti Suzuki Ignis has been nominated.

The next round of voting will see the list shortened to three finalists before the winner will be announced at the 2017 New York Auto Show to be held in April this year.

Mazda MX-5 was adjudged as the winner of the 2016 World Car of the Year awardbefore it steered clear of competition from B9 Audi A4 and Mercedes-Benz GLC. The MX-5 also won the 2016 World Car Design of the Year award.

Here are the finalists for the 2017 World Car of the Year award in no particular order:

Audi A5/ S5 Coupe

Both the Audi A5 and the S5 Coupe were unveiled in June 2016 is the second generation of the model. While the A5 is powered by a turbo 2.0-litre engine paired tothe dual clutch 7-speed automatic gearbox, the S5 Coupe motor is a turbocharged 3.0-litre milled mated to an 8-speed automatic gearbox.

Audi Q2

The Audi Q2 was unveiled first on March 1, 2016, at the Geneva Motor Show and was available in the market from November 2016. The Q2 is a compact SUV and comes with different motors to power the vehicle. The petrol units are 1.0-litre, 1.4-litre and 2.0-litre turbocharged engines, while the diesel is offered in 1.6-litre and 2.0-litre units. Gearbox duties are taken care either by the 6-speed manual or the S-Tronic 7-speed automatic.

Audi Q5

The Audi Q5 is a compact luxury crossover SUV, currently, in its second generation, the Q5 was unveiled at the 2016 Paris Motor Show. The motor powering the Audi Q5 come in different states of tune ranging from 2.0-litre to 3.0-litre engines.

Fiat/ Abarth 124 Spider

The Fiat 124 Spider uses the Mazda MX-5 platform and was unveiled at the 2015 Los Angeles Auto Show in November. The Fiat 124 Spider uses the turbocharged 1.4-litre churning out 157.8bhp of power.

Honda Civic

The Honda Civic has a history of more than 40 years in the automotive world. The Civic is in its tenth generation and comes as atwo-door coupe, four-door sedan and five-door hatchback. The 2016 Honda Civic was unveiled at the 2015 Los Angeles Auto Show. The new Civic is powered by three types of units -- 1.8-litre and 2.0-litre, while the 1.5-litre is a turbocharged engine.

Jaguar F-Pace

Jaguar entered the SUV space with the F-Pace and has vowed many auto enthusiasts. The F-Pace is a compact luxury crossover SUV. The Jaguar F-Pace was unveiled at the 2015 North American International Auto Show. Jaguar offers the F-Pace in 2.0-litre and 3.0-litre turbocharged diesel units, while a 3.0-litre turbocharged unit is powered by petrol with different states of tune.

Mazda CX-9

The Mazda CX-9 is considered to be a full-sized crossover SUV was introduced back in 2006. The CX-9 has been facelifted a couple of times; however, the next-generation was launched only in 2016. The Mazda CX-9 is powered by a turbocharged 2.5-litre engine punching out 224bhp of power.

Skoda Kodiaq

Another manufacturer venturing into SUV after Jaguar was Skoda. The company unveiled the Kodiaq is a true blue SUV with three rows to seat 7-passengers. The Kodiaq name refers to the largest brown bear, the Kodiaq bear. Skoda is offering the Kodiaq with a range of turbocharged petrol and diesel engines, ranging from 1.4 to 2.0 litres, and a choice of front- or all-wheel-drive.

Toyota C-HR

The Toyota C-HR, a subcompact crossover SUV was launched in Japan on December 14, 2016. The first unveil of the C-HR was at the 2016 Los Angeles Auto Show. Toyota is offering the C-HR in petrol engines only with the range starting from 1.2-litre to 2.0-litre units. There is also the 1.8-litre hybrid version as well.

Volkswagen Tiguan

The Tiguan is a compact crossover vehicle and was introduced in 2007, currently in its second generation. The new 2016 Volkswagen Tiguan was unveiled at the 2016 IAA in Frankfurt. VW is offering the Tiguan in short wheelbase and long wheelbase models. As for the powertrains, the VW Tiguan comes powered by a range of petrol and diesel motors, topped by a 237bhp bi-turbo diesel motor.

2017 World Luxury Car

• Bentley Bentayga
• BMW 5 Series
• Genesis G90
• Mercedes-Benz E-Class
• Volvo S90/V90



2017 World Performance Car

• Aston Martin DB11
• Audi R8 Spyder
• Honda/Acura NSX
• McLaren 570S
• Porsche 718 Boxster/Cayman



2017 World Green Car

• Chevrolet Bolt
• Honda Clarity Fuel-Cell Car
• Hyundai Ioniq
• Tesla Model X
• Toyota Prius Prime



2017 World Urban Car

• BMW i3 (94 Ah)
• Citroen C3
• Ford Ka+
• Smart Cabriolet
• Suzuki Ignis



2017 World Car Design of the Year

• Audi A5/S5 Coupe
• Jaguar F-Pace
• Mazda CX-9
• Mercedes S-Class Cabriolet
• Toyota CH-R